We start another week of the off-season with some trade speculation, more labor news, and unfortunately some legal issues for more than one player.

After spending the majority of the 2010 season backing up Michael Vick, Kevin Kolb has made it clear he wants to start somewhere in 2011.

Kevin Kolb would be open to a trade to the Cardinals … after he heard the flattering comments made by WR Larry Fitzgerald. Kolb threw some compliments back at Fitzgerald calling him “one of the best receivers” and a “superstar.” Kolb has said on multiple occasions that he wants to start somewhere in 2011 and hoped the Cardinals came up in trade discussions. With rumors swirling that Michael Vick will be franchised by the Eagles, Kolb could be stuck backing him up yet again, or the Eagles could look to move him for draft picks, although the current CBA situation makes that more difficult.

The NFL and NFLPA are expected to meet … sometime this week according to multiple sources. Negotiations broke down last Wednesday, but the two sides have continued to communicate and are expected to go through with a scheduled meeting during the week. Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke with owners [...]

Happy Friday to everyone out there from all of us at FantasyGuru. Despite the Super Bowl taking place just five days ago, the off-season is already in full swing with lots of news from around the league.

Bronco WR Demaryius Thomas ruptured his Achilles … while working out in Atlanta and could miss up to eight months. This is the fourth different injury Thomas has suffered in the last year. He broke a bone in his foot while training for the Combine and re-injured the foot in the preseason, which kept him out until Week Two. A concussion and ankle injury suffered during the season limited him to just 10 games in his rookie year, in which he finished with 22 receptions, 283 yards, and 2 TDs. This is the second major injury issue for Bronco WRs, as Eddie Royal underwent hip surgery recently and is hoping to return in time for mini-camp (if it takes place).

Cam Newton impresses … at his workout for the media in San Diego. The 2010 Heisman Trophy winner went through a variety of passing and agility drills in the 45-minute session held at a local high school. Newton has been working with QB coach George [...]

With the labor deal under a month away from running out, we will be keeping a close eye on the negotiations in the coming weeks. While teams cannot do much in terms of roster moves, they can release players and use their franchise tags. Today, we have news pertaining to all of those topics.

Peyton Manning could be franchised by the Colts … if the two sides are unable to come to terms on a new contract. The deadline for a possible new deal appears to be March 3, when the current CBA expires. Teams can start using the franchise tag today, but will have until only February 22 to make that decision. If Manning is franchised, he would make in the area of $23 million in 2011. The two sides could continue to negotiate a deal and remove the tag if one is completed. Neither the Colts nor Manning’s representatives would comment on the discussions that have taken place. Despite a myriad of injuries to Colt offensive players, Manning set a career high with 4700 yards on 450/679 passing while throwing 33 TDs and 17 INTs. The Colts won the AFC South with a 10-6 record, but were ousted from [...]

Three days after the Packers won the Super Bowl, it is starting to set in that the long football off-season is here. Still, there is news to cover unrelated to the labor issue, so we will dive into that as we still are dealing with the aftermath of the season, particularly in Pittsburgh.

After seeing his production decline in 2010, the 34-year-old Hines Ward faces two surgeries this week.

Ward, Sanders need surgery … Not only did the Steelers lose to the Packers in Super Bowl XLV, but veteran WR Hines Ward will undergo two surgeries this week, and rookie Emmanuel Sanders will also need surgery. Ward has cartilage damage in his left knee that he’s been dealing with since camp, and he also has a torn ligament in his left thumb that dates back to September. He wore a cast on the thumb all season. Meanwhile, Sanders broke his foot during the Super Bowl and will need that to be repaired. Ward saw a decline in his numbers this season, with the injuries complicating things, but he has said he plans to return in 2011 to a receiving corps that now revolves around the speedy Mike Wallace as its #1 [...]

With the 2010 season in the books, we now move on to what should be a very interesting off-season. Speculation on the labor deal, free agency, and further coaching changes are in full swing, so let us take a look at the latest news from around the league.

Royal clicked better with QB Kyle Orton in their second year together, but his role will probably never be as big as it was when Jay Cutler was under center.

Eddie Royal undergoes hip surgery … and could be out for up to six months. While he could return for OTAs in May (if they take place), the recovery may end up keeping him sidelined even longer. Despite the injury, Royal didn’t miss any games in 2010 and caught 59 balls for 627 yards and 3 TDs playing primarily out of the slot. Royal is entering his fourth season in the league and the final year of his rookie deal.

Darrelle Revis wants Chad Ochocinco … to join him as a member of the New York Jets. Revis said he’s been in Ochocinco’s ear during the last week and believes the veteran receiver could do well as a Jet. However, Ochocinco [...]

Sooo, yeah. The Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl champions, and thus concludes the 2010 NFL season. Obviously, there will be tons of doom and gloom thrown about in the media over the looming labor situation, but we are confident that the differences will be settled soon enough for a complete 2011 NFL season. With a great Super Bowl taking all of the attention in the media, today’s Fantasy Guru Daily will be a series of Quick Hits from the Super Bowl and around the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers named Super Bowl MVP… And in doing so, can he finally put to rest the notion that “Super Bowl experience” is little more than talkshow fodder to fill up hours of programming? With the Packers’ win, Rodgers becomes the third QB in the last four years to win in his first Super Bowl appearance against a “proven Super Bowl winner,” joining Eli

Hey, is Rodgers a "PROVEN WINNER" yet? Who decides these things?

Manning over the Pats in Super Bowl XLII and Drew Brees’ triumph over Peyton and the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.

Hines Ward to return in 2011… Ward had a great Super Bowl XLV, but he ain’t used to losing. So Ward, [...]

We have reached Super Bowl Friday, meaning we are only two days away from what should be a thrilling Super Bowl. Unfortunately, that also means we are just three days away from a long, long off-season. With that, there is plenty of news to get to today, with non-Super Bowl teams still making headlines.

Sanchez struggled at times recently with a right shoulder injury, but he won't need surgery.

No surgery for Sanchez … Jet QB Mark Sanchez told reporters at the Super Bowl that he does not need surgery on his injured right throwing shoulder. That means he avoids a second straight off-season surgery after he had arthroscopic knee surgery last year. Sanchez said he no longer has swelling and bruising, and after examining results of MRIs, several doctors agreed that surgery is unnecessary. Sanchez originally injured his shoulder in Week Fifteen but played through it and although he looked shaky at times – including several overthrown passes at Indianapolis – he finished strong in the second half at Pittsburgh.

Driver sidelined on Thursday … There’s no need to panic, but Packer WR Donald Driver was sidelined for most of Thursday’s practice. Driver took part in only the early portion of [...]

There isn’t much going on for the Fantasy Guru Daily today, but there are a few interesting tidbits that need to be put out there. Most notably, two teams made coordinator hires, and one came from perhaps the last place you would expect. Oh, and will Tebowmania start in Week One 2011?

Eagles make shocking defensive hire… The assumption all along here (and from everywhere else) was that the Eagles waited so long to hire their new defensive coordinator because they were waiting to interview the many qualified candidates coaching in the Super Bowl. Boy, were we wrong. Instead, Philadelphia promoted offensive line coach Juan Castillo to defensive coordinator, making yet another shocking move in a long string of shocking Andy Reid moves. What’s funny is there appears to be no true way of evaluating this move from an X’s and O’s standpoint. Castillo has never coached defense on the professional level, but assures that he is “a defensive guy.” For our purposes, the more intriguing hire is that of legendary offensive line coach Howard Mudd to replace Castillo. Mudd headed up the Colts’ big uglies for over a decade before retiring after Super Bowl XLIV, but the Eagles convinced him [...]

Welcome to another edition of the Fantasy Guru Daily. Media Day has come and gone meaning we are that much closer to Super Bowl XLV. Time to take a look at the news from around the league.

Brady named league’s top offensive player … For the second time since 2007, Patriot QB Tom Brady took home NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors with 21 of the 50 votes. Eagle QB Michael Vick finished second with 11 votes. Brady revealed to NFL Network that he recently had surgery on his right foot to fix the stress fracture he played with for quite some time. Considering he threw for 36 TDs to just 4 INTs, 3900 yards, and finished with a league-best passer rating of 111, you have to wonder if he could have been ever better if healthier. Texan RB Arian Foster, Charger QB Philip Rivers, Falcon WR Roddy White, Packer QB Aaron Rodgers, and Eagle WR DeSean Jackson also received votes. The Coach of the Year will be named later today.

No progress for McNabb, Redskins … Despite the writing being on the wall, Donovan McNabb said he has not heard from anyone with the Redskins regarding his status with the [...]

Welcome to a Tuesday edition of the Fantasy Guru Daily, where we brave the Dallas snow from our office in New Jersey to bring you the news of the day. Today is Super Bowl Media Day, meaning there will be an endless supply of stories in tomorrow’s newspapers. For now, there’s plenty of news happening elsewhere in the league.

Bratkowski out in Cincy … The Bengals fired OC Bob Bratkowski on Monday after a 10-year tenure in Cincinnati that resulted in two playoff appearances (2005 and 2009) but eight seasons with losing records. Perhaps the most disappointing season was this one, as the Bengals entered with high hopes but went just 4-12. QB Carson Palmer’s career has gone downhill, and he even asked to be traded two weeks ago. The Bengals finished 13th in passing, 27th in rushing, and 22nd in scoring. They often played from behind, and RB Cedric Benson struggled to get into a rhythm, causing the rushing offense to drop from 9th to 27th. Despite meeting with Marvin Lewis recently, former Viking HC Brad Childress will reportedly not be Bratkowski’s replacement.

And the Defensive Player of the Year is … Steeler S Troy Polamalu edged Packer LB Clay [...]

The final cuts are in, but we will most likely continue to have some news trickling out in the NFL over the next 1-2 days regarding roster spots, traded, etc. We’re not going to do our final update on our PDFs and Excel files until Sunday evening at the earliest, but I will but updating the projections on the site all weekend. If you have a draft and are loo […]

Every year on this very day I am faced with the dilemma of having rankings that, despite being less than 2 days old, feel a little stale because of all the action in the critical third preseason game. The problem is it takes forever to update projections, comments, create the PDFs, create the excel files, and update all the apps. It cannot be done over the w […]

I did an expert mock draft for USA Today and their special fantasy preview publication that will hit newsstands next week. I admittedly didn’t focus on the just the draft (I was working on several things at the time) and I simply queued up a bunch of players I liked. It wasn’t efficient at all, and I only like the squad (not love), but for what it’s worth th […]